Last minute dollars in the congressional race spark controversy

Thousands of last-minute dollars are continuing to flush into Miami's three congressional races, but Democrat Joe Garcia is calling foul on one: $2,000 to Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart from Alaska Republican (and earmark king) Don Young who is the subject of an active, unspecified federal investigation.

(The Wall Street Journal in 2007 reported Young had "come under criminal investigation in the Justice Department's widening inquiry into alleged influence-peddling and self-dealing in Congress.")

It's surprising Young has the money to spend; he's considered one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the country.

Young came under scrutiny for his role in securing a $10 million earmark for a southwest Florida road that the local community didn't want -- but that Florida developers who contributed $40,000 to his campaign did. Garcia's campaign notes the New York Times has dubbed Young "porkmeister" for his "incorrigible" abuse of the earmarking process.

"Mario Diaz-Balart and Don Young are birds of a feather, doing the bidding of big business after accepting big campaign donations," said Garcia spokesman Andy Diaz. "Now Diaz-Balart's corrupt buddy, who's under federal investigation for bribery and accepting questionable 'gifts', is throwing thousands Diaz-Balart's way to help his desperate, losing campaign."

Diaz-Balart's camp retorts that Garcia took money from the "family of leftwing extremist George Soros." Two relatives of the financier and and left-leaning philanthropist gave money to Garcia.